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Everyone knows about PCs and Macs, but there is another alternative to both, which has been trying to go mainstream for more than year. That alternative is Google's Chromebook. The Chromebook lineup has been updated once again, with the Acer C720, which is even thinner than the Acer's previous Chromebook and also offers all-day battery life.

Although Acer is manufacturing the C720, the laptop still falls into the Chromebook category since Google's operating system runs on the device. Google has partnered with numerous manufacturers in order to increase Chromebook's reach and potential.

The C720

Acer and Samsung have been Google's best Chromebook partners so far and with the success of Acer's first Chromebook, the company decided to stick with the same product strategy for the C720. The Acer C720 specializes in the same things that Chrome OS does -- it's lightweight and perfect on-the-go.

For just $249, you can pickup the C720 which includes an 11-inch screen running at a 1,366 x 768 resolution. This is pretty much the same as the original Acer Chromebook, but on the inside, there are some noticeable differences.

Acer upgraded the C720's CPU to an Intel Celeron 2955U which should be faster than the ARM processor found in HP's new Chromebook. The C720 also beats HP's Chromebook in terms of battery life. Since the 2955U does not require a whole lot of power, Acer has stated that the C720 should run for eight hours, compared to HP's six.

Without much power to run heavy applications, Chrome OS seems to work best on computers that can keep things running smoothly. With the new processor, and 4GB of RAM, Acer's C720 should run without any random slowdowns, even when trying to carry out more intensive tasks.

Can Chrome OS Compete?

Since Chrome OS is significantly lighter and faster than Windows, it makes sense that there is the potential for Chrome OS to take over Microsoft's share of the operating system market. It is unlikely that this would ever happen -- nor is Google trying to make it happen -- but either way, Chrome OS is a viable competitor to Windows.

What originally appeared to be the worst aspect of Chrome OS, it's inability to run most programs directly, has since become one of the better things that the operating system offers. By moving almost everything to the cloud, Chrome OS can always remain snappy with virtually no loading times for programs. This is not the case for Windows.

Price is obviously one of the best aspects of Chromebook laptops. Although you can find Windows PCs that cost around the same as a Chromebook, there will frequently be issues with such cheap devices. Since OEM hardware manufacturers are working hand-in-hand with Google, cheap Chromebooks actually run the operating system just fine.

This has made the Chromebook into the perfect laptop for students and on-the-go professionals, replacing both Mac and Windows laptops along the way.

There is a glimmer of hope for those on the lower end of the income spectrum. Thanks to Google. At least I can provide my school going children with a laptop that fits within my tight budget.

Adam:

Posted: 2013-10-14 @ 5:06am PT

Give Google and their hardware partners credit for sticking with the Chromebook, despite a lot of resistance. The more improvements they make, the more the Chromebook becomes attractive to more users.

But what about Chromebook users that need to access Windows applications like Microsoft Office, or that want to connect to work applications like CRM and ERP from home? They can try products like Ericom AccessNow, an HTML5 RDP solution that enables Chromebook users to connect to Terminal Servers and/or VDI virtual desktops, and run Windows applications or desktops in a browser tab.

There's nothing to install on the Chromebook, so AccessNow is easy to deploy and manage.

For an online, interactive demo, open your Chrome browser and visit:
http://www.ericom.com/demo_AccessNow.asp?URL_ID=708